Krishna Software Newsletter June 2001
Lord Krsna Can Only be Understood Through Devotional Service!

Welcome to the KrishnaSoft's Electronic Newsletter.
This is the June 2001 issue entitled: "Lord Krsna Can Only be Understood Through Devotional Service!"
WEB: http://www.krishnasoft.com; EMAIL: krishna@krishnasoft.com or vdayal@castle.net

[The following is the 31st of a series of articles to present to the benefits of the Srimad-Bhagavatam. The Krsna CDROM and the Srimad-Bhagavatam CDROM from Krishnasoft present this great spiritual masterpiece in multimedia format.]

As we have pointed out in previous newsletters, Lord Krsna is the supreme controller and creator of the material elements including mind, intelligence, and false ego. So what is conceivable to materialists using these subtle material elements is not the limits of Lord Krsna; they are the limitations of the mind, intelligence, and ego of the materialists who use them independently of engaging in devotional service. Devotional service is beyond this material world and Lord Krsna can only be known by engaging in devotional service:

"By culture of Vedic knowledge one must know Lord Krsna and should not falsely speculate on the word aham, or "I." The only method for understanding the Supreme Truth is devotional service, as stated in Bhagavad-gita (18.55): bhaktya mam abhijanati yavan yas casmi tattvatah. ONLY BY DEVOTIONAL SERVICE CAN ONE KNOW THAT THE ULTIMATE TRUTH IS THE PERSONALITY OF GODHEAD AND THAT BRAHMAN AND PARAMATMA ARE ONLY HIS PARTIAL FEATURES. This is confirmed in this verse by the great sage Maitreya. With devotion he offers his sincere surrender, namah, to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, bhagavate." (Bhag. 3.6.40)

"It is said in the Brahma-samhita that the mental speculator may fly through the sky of speculation with the velocity of the mind or the wind for thousands of millions of years, and still he will find it inconceivable. The devotees, however, do not waste time in such vain searching after knowledge of the Supreme, but they submissively hear the glories of the Lord from bona fide devotees. Thus they transcendentally enjoy the process of hearing and chanting." (Bhag. 3.6.38)

This material world is like a prison where those who are averse to the devotional service of Lord Krsna are sent. Using one's own concocted methods, one cannot get out of the material world nor help anyone else to get out. However, by following the process of devotional service, one can transcend the material world:

"Brahmaji believed in this art of bhakti-yoga; he believed in the instruction of the Lord to execute tapa, and he discharged the function with great penance and thus achieved the great success of seeing the Vaikunthalokas and the Lord also by personal experience. NO ONE CAN REACH THE ABODE OF THE SUPREME LORD BY ANY MECHANICAL MEANS OF THE MIND OR MACHINE, but one can reach the abode of the Vaikunthalokas simply by following the process of bhakti-yoga because the Lord can be realized only through the bhakti-yoga process. Lord Brahmaji was actually sitting on his lotus seat, and from there, by executing the process of bhakti-yoga in great seriousness, he could see the Vaikunthalokas with all variegatedness as well as the Lord in person and His associates." (Bhag. 2.9.18)

"Mahatmas are not fond of indulging in mental speculations, but they actually take to the devotional service of the Lord, without the slightest deviation. Devotional service is manifested by the primary process of hearing and chanting about the activities of the Lord. This transcendental method practiced by the mahatmas gives them sufficient knowledge of the Lord because if the Lord can at all be known to some extent, it is only through the means of devotional service and no other way." (Bhag. 3.6.38)

"One who manufactures names, forms, qualities or paraphernalia pertaining to the Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot understand Him, since He is beyond creation. The Supreme Lord is the creator of everything, and this means that He existed when there was no creation. In other words, His name, form and qualities are not materially created entities; they are transcendental always. Therefore by our material concoctions, vibrations and thoughts we cannot ascertain the Supreme Lord. This is explained in the verse atah sri-krsna-namadi na bhaved grahyam indriyaih." (Bhag. 6.4.29)

Chanting the holy name of Lord Krsna-- Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare/ Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare is the religion of this Age of Kali. As explained in our December 2000 newsletter, reading transcendental literatures is also chanting because it is dovetailed with the Absolute Truth:

"THE REASON IS THAT THE SUPREME LORD IS ABSOLUTE TRUTH, AND ANYTHING EARNESTLY DOVETAILED WITH THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH ATTAINS THE SAME TRANSCENDENTAL QUALITY. " (Bhag. 2.6.34)

The main point to understand here is that the literature must be TRANSCENDENTAL else it cannot be considered to have the same quality as the Absolute Truth. As explained in our December 2000 newsletter, this can only be possible if the work is done under the order of Lord Krsna coming down through the disciplic succession.

"'Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do not know My transcendental nature and My supreme dominion over all that be.' Therefore, one must receive knowledge from a person to whom the Lord has revealed Himself; there is no value in creating an imaginary name or form for the Lord. " (Bhag. 6.4.29)

"Brahma was mystified about Krsna's opulence (nija-mahimani) because this opulence was atarkya, or inconceivable. With one's limited senses, one cannot argue about that which is inconceivable. Therefore the inconceivable is called acintya, that which is beyond cintya, our thoughts and arguments. Acintya refers to that which we cannot contemplate but have to accept. Srila Jiva Gosvami has said that unless we accept acintya in the Supreme, we cannot accommodate the conception of God. This must be understood. Therefore we say that the words of sastra should be taken as they are, without change, since they are beyond our arguments. Acintyah khalu ye bhava na tams tarkena yojayet: 'That which is acintya cannot be ascertained by argument.' People generally argue, but our process is not to argue but to accept the Vedic knowledge as it is. When Krsna says, 'This is superior, and this is inferior,' we accept what He says. It is not that we argue, 'Why is this superior and that inferior?' If one argues, for him the knowledge is lost." (Bhag. 10.13.57)

"The way of devotional service is neither sentimental nor mundane. It is the path of reality by which the living entity can attain the transcendental happiness of being freed from the three kinds of material miseries-- miseries arising from the body and mind, from other living entities and from natural disturbances. Everyone who is conditioned by material existence-- whether he be a man or beast or demigod or bird-- must suffer from adhyatmika (bodily or mental) pains, adhibhautika pains (those offered by living creatures), and adhidaivika pains (those due to supernatural disturbances). His happiness is nothing but a hard struggle to get free from the miseries of conditional life. But there is only one way he can be rescued, and that is by accepting the shelter of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead." (Bhag. 3.5.40)

Generally, people need some knowledge before they can take up the path of devotional service, but this acquiring of knowledge is a selfish activity meant to gratify one's mind and intelligence whereas devotional service is natural position of the living entity of rendering service to the Supreme Lord. And this act of engaging in devotional service automatically results in knowledge:

"The argument that unless one has proper knowledge one cannot be freed from material miseries is undoubtedly true. But because the lotus feet of the Lord are full of transcendental knowledge, acceptance of His lotus feet completes that necessity. We have already discussed this point in the First Canto (1.2.7):

"There is no want of knowledge in the devotional service of Vasudeva, the Personality of Godhead. He, the Lord, personally takes charge of dissipating the darkness of ignorance from the heart of a devotee. He confirms this in Bhagavad-gita (10.10):

"Empiric philosophical speculation cannot give one relief from the threefold miseries of material existence. Simply to endeavor for knowledge without devoting oneself to the Lord is a waste of valuable time." (Bhag. 3.5.40)

It should be understood that one is not renouncing one's mind, intelligence, body, etc. completely. One is dovetailing them in the devotional service that is coming down through the disciplic succession. This is different from one who uses his mind and intelligence to concoct his own so-called 'devotional' service. Since reading transcendental literatures such as the Srimad-Bhagavatam are also chanting of the holy name and are part of the dharma for this Age of Kali, one can begin reading any such transcendental literatures and gradually progress toward going back to Godhead.

Srimad-Bhagavatam deals with many different subject matters, but they are all in relation to Lord Krsna, the Absolute Truth. All the statements of the Srimad-Bhagavatam are fact including the predictions:

"The descriptions of the Bhagavatam are so precise and accurate that whatever has been predicted in this great literature about five thousand years ago is now exactly happening." (Bhag. 1.5.13)

The following are some quotes from the Fifth Canto of the Srimad-Bhagavatam that talk about the reality of the material world:

"My dear King, family members in this material world go under the names of wife and children, but actually they behave like tigers and jackals. A herdsman tries to protect his sheep to the best of his ability, but the tigers and foxes take them away by force. Similarly, although a miserly man wants to guard his money very carefully, his family members take away all his assets forcibly, even though he is very vigilant." (Bhag. 5.14.3)

"Sometimes the conditioned soul in household life, being attached to material wealth and possessions, is disturbed by gadflies and mosquitoes, and sometimes locusts, birds of prey and rats give him trouble. Nonetheless, he still wanders down the path of material existence. Due to ignorance he becomes lusty and engages in fruitive activity. Because his mind is absorbed in these activities, he sees the material world as permanent, although it is temporary like a phantasmagoria, a house in the sky." (Bhag. 5.14.5)

"Sometimes the living entity is interested in the yellow stool known as gold and runs after it. That gold is the source of material opulence and envy, and it can enable one to afford illicit sex, gambling, meat-eating and intoxication. Those whose minds are overcome by the mode of passion are attracted by the color of gold, just as a man suffering from cold in the forest runs after a phosphorescent light in a marshy land, considering it to be fire." (Bhag. 5.14.7)

"The conditioned soul sometimes personally appreciates the futility of sense enjoyment in the material world, and he sometimes considers material enjoyment to be full of miseries. However, due to his strong bodily conception, his memory is destroyed, and again and again he runs after material enjoyment, just as an animal runs after a mirage in the desert." (Bhag. 5.14.10)

"Sometimes the conditioned soul is very aggrieved by the chastisement of his enemies and government servants, who use harsh words against him directly or indirectly. At that time his heart and ears become very saddened. Such chastisement may be compared to the sounds of owls and crickets." (Bhag. 5.14.11)

"Due to his pious activities in previous lives, the conditioned soul attains material facilities in this life, but when they are finished, he takes shelter of wealth and riches, which cannot help him in this life or the next. Because of this, he approaches the living dead who possess these things. Such people are compared to impure trees, creepers and poisonous wells." (Bhag. 5.14.12)

"Sometimes, to mitigate distresses in this forest of the material world, the conditioned soul receives cheap blessings from atheists. He then loses all intelligence in their association. This is exactly like jumping in a shallow river. As a result one simply breaks his head. He is not able to mitigate his sufferings from the heat, and in both ways he suffers. The misguided conditioned soul also approaches so-called sadhus and svamis who preach against the principles of the Vedas. He does not receive benefit from them, either in the present or in the future." (Bhag. 5.14.13)

"In this world, family life is exactly like a blazing fire in the forest. There is not the least happiness, and gradually one becomes more and more implicated in unhappiness. In household life, there is nothing favorable for perpetual happiness. Being implicated in home life, the conditioned soul is burned by the fire of lamentation. Sometimes he condemns himself as being very unfortunate, and sometimes he claims that he suffers because he performed no pious activities in his previous life." (Bhag. 5.14.15)

"Government men are always like carnivorous demons called Raksasas [man-eaters]. Sometimes these government men turn against the conditioned soul and take away all his accumulated wealth. Being bereft of his life's reserved wealth, the conditioned soul loses all enthusiasm. Indeed, it is as though he loses his life." (Bhag. 5.14.16)

"As far as transactions with money are concerned, if one person cheats another by a farthing or less, they become enemies." (Bhag. 5.14.26)

[A quick glimpse of Chapter 14 of the Fifth Canto of the Srimad-Bhagavatam is one of the things that initially interested the author of this newsletter to start reading the Srimad-Bhagavatam; so we hope it inspires others as well.]

Krishna Software Inc. is dedicated to help people become peaceful and happy via spiritual science presented using modern multimedia technology. Our editorial policy as well as our mission is stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.2.37 Purport):

"One should engage in practical service to the Lord. In our Krsna consciousness movement, *ALL* our activities are concentrated upon distributing Krsna literature. This is very important. One may approach any person and induce him to read Krsna literature so that in the future he also may become a devotee.... By fully concentrating on distributing books for Krsna, one is fully absorbed in Krsna."

Our newsletters are geared to show you the benefits of the instructions contained in the transcendental books of Srila Prabhupada so you can judge for yourself the value of these books and obtain them in book or CDROM format. We also have video demos of the Gita CDROM and Bhagavatam CDROM available for those without computers or those who want to get a glimpse into what is on the CDROM.

Krishna Software Inc. has produced some multimedia CDROMs and all the details and reviews of these CDROMs can be found at our website http://www.krishnasoft.com. Here is our current list of products:

(a) Multimedia Bhagavad-gita As It Is CD: Lord Krsna's eternal instructions to Arjuna and the rest of the world about Isvara (Supreme Lord), jiva (the soul), karma (activities), kala (time), and prakrti (nature). This is a 30-hour audio-visual CDROM. Also available with Hindi translations.

(b) Multimedia Srimad-Bhagavatam CD: An encyclopedia on the science of Krsna consciousness. This CDROM deals in detail with bhakti-yoga and covers various subjects-- the creation of the universe, Vedic astronomy, transmigration, birth-death, etc. This is about 35 hours of audio-visual presentations.

(c) Multimedia Krsna CD w/Vedic Astronomy: This is a 51-hour audio-visual presentation of the Krsna book and a Vedic Astronomy simulation based on the Srimad-Bhagavatam. All on a single CDROM. Free sample demo downloadable from our website.

(d) Multilingual Word Processor CD [version 4.00]: Type in diacritics, Hindi, Sanskrit, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali, and Assamese without knowing the alphabet. This is for those who want to write articles using multiple languages. Free demo downloadable from our website.

All of the above software was tested on various Intel 486 and Pentium processors running Windows 3.1, Windows '95, Windows '98, Windows Me, and Windows NT (client and server).

Latest information and secure ordering is available at our web site: http://www.krishnasoft.com. Any upgrades can be downloaded from this website as well.

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All glories to Lord Sri Krsna and His transcendental potencies! All glories to the Srimad-Bhagavatam, the literary incarnation of Lord Sri Krsna!